Vault Comics unleashes monsters once again. Some are horrific supernatural beasts, and some look like anyone else. “I Walk With Monsters” #1 gives us a look at scary bloodthirsty creatures and the monsters who stop them. Mild Spoilers Ahead.
Written by Paul CornellCover by Sally Cantirino
Illustrated by Sally Cantirino
Colored by Dearbhla Kelly
Lettered by Andworld Design“I Walk With Monsters” #1 makes a smart, and somewhat bold move, of opening up in media res. It throws details at us to both confuse us and fill in story gaps right off the bat. The first page is a close-up of a man who works in a medical profession in some capacity, or at least seems to, digging around in a bag of sharp implements – medical and otherwise. Behind him is a young woman tied to a chair. At first this detail is almost imperceptible, and the man’s stethoscope, scrubs, and name tag basically lull you into a sense of safety; until you notice the ropes around the woman. As this man gets into whatever his spiel is going to be, brandishing a scalpel, the woman starts talking back. Making fun of the words he uses, talking down to intelligence and experience he believes he has. A little reverse psychology to throw him off his game and get him spiraling. As this scene plays out things go from unsettling to wild in a split second panel jump.
Just before this madman can make his move a ferocious jet black creature with fiery eyes crashes through the roof devouring him and leaving limbs and guts strewn about. In the monster’s place, a man now stands. From here, the plot begins to take shape. The monster man is David, and the young woman is Jacey, and this isn’t the first time they’ve taken down a human monster (read: serial killer, pedophile, and the like.) and it won’t be the last. Focusing on the slightest of details and simplest of dialogue, Paul Cornell’s script is incredibly tight and lets the reader understand exactly what we need to know about Lacey and David’s partnership. He allows for the the short interactions to explain everything. Sally Cantirino’s artwork is moody and fills in the rest for us.
Flashbacks to Jacey’s past show life on a farm with her father and brother. As more of the puzzle falls into place we get a slightly clearer picture of where her journey will take her and what set her on that path, but Cornell’s writing is wonderfully natural and refuses to give us textbook exposition. Everything is hinted at in the dialogue, or again, based solely on Cantirino’s illustrations. Everything is in the character’s facial expressions and eye movement. Her work is nails the subtle glances in each scene. It’s all there plain as day for us, but it still comes across as natural, even as scenes cut or jump just as our memories do. It perfectly encapsulates the idea of Jacey day-dreaming about these moments. And as the memory ends it cuts right back to present day with Jacey in the middle of whatever action she’s performing. It is both jarring, in the way that dark memories can be, and shows us the fuel that powers her vengeful engine.
If I had to make one major criticism about the storytelling it is that the two main settings that Jacey and David find themselves in trigger Jacey’s memories from childhood. It feels a little convenient to have both within the premiere issue. This isn’t to say it is done poorly. It actually makes for a confident and excellent page-turner. These are key elements that motivate Jacey and push the story forward, ending the issue with a big reveal and cliffhanger. It would have worked just as well to space these out into the next issue. It seems like there wasn’t enough story written to fill out this issue while spreading out the rest of the series.
“I Walk With Monsters” #1 is both a dark horror comic with monsters and gore, but it is also a great look into PTSD and memory suppression. Although we go into two major memories with Jacey, there are bits that are cut, or jump through time. Even faces and names that are blurred or scratched out. These are scary and painful memories and even though she’s trying her hardest to recall certain details, her mind is blocking them out to protect her. Cantirino does an excellent job of portraying these moments in a physical representation within Jacey’s psyche. When a certain figure from her past comes into her mind, they aren’t portrayed as the human man he is. He’s a giant with grey-blue skin and face covered in red scribbles. These red scribbles also cover the man’s name as he introduces himself. You can almost hear a pencil scratching out these details as something dark and menacing whispers indiscernible phrases in your ear.
Continued belowCornell’s tight script is a perfect example of show don’t tell, giving us just what we need for this opening to the story. It leaves so much mystery ahead without feeling like frustrating Swiss cheese writing. Having worked in comics, film, t.v., and stage, his pacing for stories is on point. It’s great to see something original from him in this medium as he tends to work on existing characters and franchises. Paired with Cantirino’s artwork. Her line-work is loose and she puts the most detail into her character design. She relies more on feeling than dead-set realism. Settings like the farm in which the story opens are drawn out and clear, but stay away from becoming cluttered spaces drawing our attention away from the story at hand. Her style tends to lean towards softer and cartoon-ish, which is off-set by the incredibly dark story at hand. Everyone and everything has a clay-like feel, but it works in a similar way as work by Tyler Crook or Lisandro Estherren.
The colors by Dearbhla Kelly are some of the best she’s ever done. Having worked on books like “Red Sonja” she gets to flex her talents here in a more diverse manner. She paints the mood just as much as Cornell and Cantirino do. This is a hell of an art team on this book and I look forward to not only checking out the rest of this series, but seeing more from them on other books.
This is an excellent and strong premiere for a little horror book. What could have been a throwaway creature feature is something far more. It has dark tendrils that will look to get under your skin. Let it in.
Final Verdict: 8.5, “I Walk With Monsters” #1 takes the worn out idea of ‘people were the real monsters all along’ and makes it interesting again.
